Word: afro
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Nathan I. Huggins, DuBois Professor of Afro-American Studies and History, has no air conditioning to relieve the hot weather as he moves into his new office at 77 Dunster St. But while his headquarters may be uncomfortable now, the heat of the summer will be mild compared with the heat Huggins will face in autumn as the new chairman of the Afro-American Studies Department...
...part, Huggins says he doesn't "find Afro-Am an either/or proposition--it is a study of Africans in the new world principally, but not exclusively. We're naturally interested in African culture and society. We're interested necessarily in the Caribbean, and perhaps in Latin America for comparative purposes." But, Huggins adds quickly, "No program can take the world as its field. Africa is a very rich field in itself. I do not see us becoming an African studies department...
More recently, Selwyn R. Cudjoe, assistant professor of Afro-American Studies and an expert in Caribbean literature, was denied promotion to associate professor despite recommendations from both academics in his field and students. The executive committee solicited outside advice before reaching a verdict on Cudjoe's status--not normally done in non-tenure cases--and committee member Richard B. Freeman, professor of Economics, said in late July that the committee had tried to be "as fair as possible" in its deliberations...
...decision in late April not to consider Eugene D. Genovese, professor of history at Rochester University and a top-flight historian in the field of slavery, for its next appointment after Huggins. Committee members said that at Huggins' request, they had decided to make their next appointment in Afro-American literature...
...When students discover it's possible to develop skills that will serve them in the future, that's how we'll get our concentrators," Huggins adds. No matter what, Afro-Am faces a watershed year. The bristling skepticism about the Afro-Am Department on campus is rooted in a history of tension and controversy, and it will be a while before officials can dispel doubts about the future. And no matter what, all eyes will focus on the placid figure of Nathan Huggins, who has just sat down in the hottest of hot seats...